


Scales in Paradise

by Sephypsycologist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Soft Vore, Vore, and all the monsters are cute nagas, and the kids, mentions of not safe, naga!everybody, safe vore, the royals are here too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 15:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17083016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephypsycologist/pseuds/Sephypsycologist
Summary: A deep jungle with rumors of horrifying monsters inside! Will you make it out with your life?





	1. Deep Foliage

An expedition into the jungle! Finally, you’d gotten all the red tape and legal paperwork out of the way and you were headed into the vast unknown.

It wasn’t like you were just some random Joe off the street, either.

No, you had studied the ecosystem for a long time. School papers, going to college for botany, forestry, and conservative ecology. Now was your chance!

The locals were kind enough to guide you to the edge of the forest, but would not go further. You understood. Even the world news had believed the sightings of monsters when actual untouched photographs from old cameras came out with massive beasts interacting with humans.

But you weren’t worried. No one had been hurt by these creatures, and they’d all vanished back into the forest with the children who had led them out. Children that had long been given up for dead by the villagers or were unknown survivors of planes downed over the vast expanse of trees.

Still, now that a few years had passed, no one was talking about it anymore, and you had serious scientific cataloguing to do! Who knew what sorts of plants and insects had taken residence in the now undisturbed wilds? Or what sort of habitats the local reptiles and mammals had carved out with their supposed big new neighbors? So many possibilities!

You stepped off the little boat and waved goodbye to your guide thus far, tying a string to a nearby sapling and holding its spool in your hand. You wouldn’t get lost this way, or go too far from your pick-up point. Plus, the string was natural hemp fibers, so even if it became too tangled to remove from something, it would degrade like a plant would.

You made sure to sketch any plant or bug or bird you were unsure of. You had a pretty good idea about most native species here, but it was a jungle and there was no telling what little beasties had remained undiscovered here.

It was barely two hours into your journey when you spotted a lovey parrot on a high branch. Its blue and green plumage was stunning, and you just had to capture it in sketch. “ooh, hello, pretty bird,” you cooed softly, eyes darting between the parrot and your sketchbook. “You are so beautiful, aren’t you? Yes…just stay right there and preen. Good bird, pretty bird.”

The colors of the parrot were so entrancing you didn’t hear the soft rustles behind you, or the accompanying eyes watching your back.

In fact, until you finished your sketch, you were ignorant of the world save for your lovely subject. “All done. What a good birdy you were. Thank you!” You put your pencil into the spiral of your book and grinned, only to be bowled over as whatever was behind you launched forward.

You hit the ground with a muffled thump, scaring the parrot off its branch and knocking your sketchpad out of your hand. “I HAVE SECURED THE HUMAN, PAPY!”

“good job, blue. Just hold her while I check out what she was doing.”

You felt something slightly cool and smooth coil around your body as two boney hands held your arms. Understandably, you struggled, but the coils wrapped tighter, “PLEASE BE CALM, MISS HUMAN! I WON’T HURT YOU, I PROMISE!”

Tilting your head, you managed to look at your sketch book on the ground in front of you. A deeper voice than the one yelling on top of you, the second speaker, seemed to be moving toward it, and you felt your stomach drop as a massive orange serpent slithered in front of you. Or at least, something with the tail of a serpent anyway, because you couldn’t see half of the body, “listen to my bro, kid. I’m just checking your little notes here.”

What else could you do? You sat there, as this giant snake-thing’s brother held you in his coils and babbled. “PAPY, SHE’S DRESSED UP LIKE THOSE MOVIES THAT CHARA SHOWED US! THAT JUMANJI GUY!”

The other voice chuckled softly, Papy apparently, “yeah, she’s kinda silly lookin’ like him, huh? no big moustache though.” A hand made of literal bone reached down over the coils and picked up your sketchbook. Oh. Oh no. They weren’t just snakes, they were skeleton snakes. Monsters.

“YES! BUT, PAPY, YOU KNOW HUMAN LADIES DON’T GROW WHISKERS. ESPECIALLY NOT PRETTY ONES LIKE THIS ONE.” You felt yourself slightly flattered by the compliment, but you were still worried for your safety so it didn’t set as well as it could have.

Papy flipped through your sketches, the sound of the paper turning evident. “huh….just plants and bugs and birds. Didn’t even write a single word about anything.” Seeming satisfied, he closed the book with a soft clapping of the cover on the first page, then asked, “okay, girly, so why are you out here? Surely you’re not some sort of weird artist?”

“DON’T CALL HER WEIRD BEFORE YOU KNOW HER, PAPY, THAT’S RUDE,” came a chastising tone from the other monster holding you down.

“I-It’s fine. I’m j-just an ecologist. Scientist, studies the environment? I w-was just trying to see if there were any new species around, or a-any odd behaviors in the local animals.” You hoped they believed you. It was the truth after all!

“uh huh, sure. And that string?” He didn’t sound amused.

“I don’t live around here, and I didn’t want to chance getting lost. It’s a natural fiber string, though! It won’t hurt any animals if they bite it and I was just going to follow it back to where my guide was going to pick me up.” What was this guy’s problem? He was a skeleton-snake monster and you were just some puny, unfit human woman! His brother had you trapped and there was no evidence against you. Yet he seemed to see you as a threat.

“Natural fibers? As in, biodegradable?” he asked, intrigued.

“yeah.”

“good.” You felt the string roll, that had been in your pocket, be removed. “I’ll roll this up a little ways and throw it out randomly. No harm done.”

“no! you can’t do that! How will I get home?!” you began to thrash and panic again, the thought of being lost in the jungle terrifying you.

“not my problem, seeing as you won’t be going back.” The deep voice faded as the orange tail slithered away.

You screamed, and that upset the one holding you down enough that he switched your position. He was now holding your hands in front of you while his coils held you upright. You could see he was wearing blue gloves, which explained why you hadn’t noticed he was skeletal rather than just boney before. His coils were a bright cyan and sparkled strangely in the dappled light. “MISS HUMAN, I’M SO SORRY. BUT WE HAVE TO STAY SAFE SINCE THE HUMANS WERE ALL SO HOSTILE WHEN WE CAME BACK TO THE SURFACE. It’s the rules….I’m sorry.”

Might as well look at his face, since he seemed sad. He was a skeleton, yeah, but there was an odd softness to his features that made him look childlike. Thin, translucent tears were gathered at the edges of his sockets, where two white lights wavered on your face. He sounded heartbroken, holding your hands to his armored chest and sniffling, “I really am sorry. But! Maybe you’ll end up liking it here? Our little humans love living with us so….so maybe you’ll be okay?” He’d even lowered his volume for you, but it didn’t make you feel any better. You were a prisoner, of course you were going to be upset. So you just cried and tried to jerk away.

He was too strong for you, though, and you just ended up sobbing in place. His coils moved up your body a bit and squeezed softly, “oh no….I didn’t mean…..” Pinning your wrists to his chest with one arm, he used the other to hug you. “Please, don’t cry. I’ll make sure you can be happy with us, I promise. And the Magnificent Sans always keeps his promises.”

You wanted to fight, or yell, but he was so sincere. He was just as unhappy about this as you were, and you felt the tears drip from his chin onto your back. So you let yourself lean onto his shoulder to get your crying done. His skull was warm against your neck, and you heard small, sad “mweh” sounds once in a while as he sniffled and squeezed you softly. It was weird, but the fact he said he’d make sure you could be happy was nice, and he really didn’t like that you were crying.

Blue cuddled you as hard as he could. Poor human, you were trying to learn things and now you were stuck here. He felt awful, but he couldn’t go against the kings and queens. They made the laws for a reason, and up till now it was okay. Why couldn’t they just let you go home, though? You hadn’t written about them and your string was the only reason you knew how to get back so….? But he couldn’t think that way right now. Poor human, you needed his healing hugs. Your soul was so sad it was cracked!

Papy had made his way back now, without your string, and Blue turned to look at him with teary eyes. “PAPY CAN’T WE JUST LEAVE HER ALONE? SHE WASN’T GETTING CLOSE ON PURPOSE.”

It was pretty clear his brother was hurt by his tears, but he shook his head, “sorry, bro, but rules are rules. And we can’t be sure; she could be lying to us.”

“BUT YOU’RE THE BEST AT FINDING LIES, PAPY! YOU KNOW SHE WASN’T,” Blue hated when Papyrus tried to get around his responsibilities, or avoid uncomfortable subjects.

“well, me knowing and me being able to convince the monarchs is a different thing. Rules say we have to bring her in and keep her. Just let me carry her there, okay? You’re not quite big enough for adult humans over big distances.”

“I AM TOO, BUT I REALIZE YOU WANT TO BE SURE I WON’T LET HER GO WHILE YOU’RE NOT LOOKING. I WOULD HAVE, TOO.” Blue sighed, stopping his petting and hugging of you and pulled back.

Your eyes were red and puffy, and you looked so forlorn that he felt his soul aching for you. “I AM SORRY, HUMAN, BUT MY BROTHER IS GOING TO HOLD ON TO YOU NOW. PAPYRUS IS A GOOD SOUL AND HE WILL NOT HURT YOU EITHER EVEN IF HE IS A MEANIE ABOUT THIS.” Blue gave you a sad smile. He really did think you were pretty, even like this.

Pouting, he handed your wrists over to Papy, who was able to hold you much easier in his longer coils. “BE GENTLE ON HER! I AM GOING TO BE VERY UPSET IF YOU MAKE HER CRY AGAIN!”

“I will, blue. No worries.” He tilted your chin up, looking you in the eye. “and you’ll be a good girl and do what I say, right? I seriously don’t want to hurt you, and I don’t want you running off and maybe getting lost or hurt either.”

This worried Blue for a bit, but you nodded and looked down, clearly tired from crying. He’d make some special food with his friends to cheer you up first thing when they got home.

Holding you up, Honey got a good look at you for the first time. Blue was right about you being pretty, even if the crying had made your skin blotchy on your cheeks. He could feel how sad and tired you were, see the little crack on your soul, still throbbing with the pulse of it. If it was up to him, you’d be going home, but it wasn’t so there wasn’t much he could do except this.

He kept your eyes on his, using his magic to do a bit of hypnotism, just enough to make you limp. He wasn’t going to bother putting you fully under since it wasn’t needed. “There we go. Now close your eyes and just breathe for me. We’re going to take you home with us.” You were compliant enough already, nodding and closing your eyes. Good. Now he wouldn’t have anybody watching, especially since Blue knew better.

You didn’t know why you wanted to do what Papy said, but you just went with it. No need to fight when it was hopeless anyway. You’d have been horribly lost without your string, and they were stronger than you. So you just let the monster do as he wished.

He took a deep breath (despite not having lungs probably), and you felt yourself being pulled forward. Warm wetness hit your face and despite an internal cringe, you didn’t react. What was he even doing?

That warmth spread over your shoulders after a few sickening popping sounds, and you felt the intense smell of honey hit your face. Why honey? It was nice though, at least whatever was going on wasn’t stinky. You really couldn’t stand stinky things.

Your hips were up in the air now. That felt really weird, especially with the wet noises around your head. Your clothes were soaked by now, and it felt more than a little unpleasant. There was a weird crease in your shirt that was pinching some of the fat under your arm, and your hair was sticking to your skin. Oh well, it was really warm in here. Wherever here was. Whoop, and now you were sliding pretty fast. Gravity maybe.

Oh well, you were fine. At least you were fine until you felt something burning in your chest. Something inside you was pushing out toward the front as you passed some buzzing through the outside of whatever was around you. It was warm and tingly, and the buzzing pulsed with your heartbeat, or maybe you pulsed with it? Either way, it was over pretty quickly as you slipped down into a more open area. You’d been constricted, you realized, and not even noticed. Huh, that crying must have made you really tired if you were blanking out like that. And that buzzing…you could feel it in your fingers as you were curled into the open space by the rest of your body falling in with you.

“push your legs down a little, if ya don’t mind, kid. Might as well make us both comfortable,” came the voice, and you remembered that you were with those two monsters a minute ago. Oh yeah. You did as you were told, and kept your eyes closed. You decided you liked the buzzing, and it made you feel calm….and very sleepy.


	2. Homestead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, at least you're alive this far?

“HONEY!”

“shhh, blue, she’s actually asleep.”

“Brother, did you see that?” Blue continued in a softer voice.

Honey, after popping his jaw back in place, nodded, “kinda felt it, too, bro.”

“Your souls resonated.” The little skele-snake squeaked happily, “She really will be happy with us then.”

Sighing, Honey began the long road back to their house, “that only means our souls work together well. Might just be that we both like science. Don’t get too excited.”

Blue slithered along quickly next to him, “I’ll try not to, but it’s so neat.” He was giddy with the idea, actually. “I don’t remember anybody ever resonating with you before, Papy.”

“You do,” he pointed out, hands in the pocket of the orange hoodie he wore over his torso.

“I’m your brother, of course I do,” came the response, Blue chiding him gently, “but nobody else. You spend too much time asleep or at Muffet’s for anybody to get to know you. You only know the same people.”

Honey laughed, “but bro, you haven’t resonated with anybody else either.”

“THAT IS BECAUSE I AM TOO MAGNIFICENT!”

“okay okay, calm down or you’ll wake her up.” He was smiling, but inside he was worried. He really hadn’t resonated with anybody, and now he was feeling pretty protective of this girl. Hopefully she wouldn’t hate him. He could feel her head pressing against the membrane behind his pocket, so he idly ran his thumb over her head. She shifted slightly into the touch, and Honey felt himself blush. She really must have been exhausted if a little warmth and hypnosis made her go to sleep.

Glancing at Blue, Honey quirked a browbone at him, “What?”

“YOU’VE GOT A CUTE LITTLE SMILE ON YOUR FACE. YOU LIKE HAVING HER IN THERE, DON’T YOU?” Blue giggled as he zipped ahead of his older brother before he could answer.

There wasn’t much Honey could do at this point about Blue’s teasing, so he just grinned and followed at his own pace. He’d prank his brother in retaliation soon enough.

You woke up without opening your eyes. You were warm and dry, and the humidity in the area was actually not sweltering. It was so nice, and you didn’t want to wake up yet. What a strange dream. You could almost still feel that warm buzzing. Maybe all that had been a dream?

On opening your eyes, you realized that no, it was not.

You were in an unfamiliar room, most likely inhabited by a child who liked space, since the comforter had stars on it. And the bed was shaped like a rocket. And there were action figures of astronauts and aliens covering the table near the left wall.

You sat up and looked at yourself. You were in a large black T-shirt with “I’d make a joke about sodium, but Na” on it. That made you smile; you liked smart puns. Your bra and panties were still on, good, though you noticed a little dampness at the edges of these now that you were checking. And your pants? Some sort of black material with skulls and crossbones on it. Ironic, but why would snake-skeletons need pants?

You decided not to worry about it. You were a bit more concerned with the fact you were dressed in clothes not your own, clean, and dry after being in the jungle and probably getting dragged in a wet sack.

Trying the door, you were surprised to find it unlocked. That made you both happy and suspicious. You were trapped with the monsters, that was true enough, but why leave a door unlocked if you’re keeping someone prisoner?

Cautious as possible, she glanced from right to left. This room was in front of a set of stairs, and set on a balcony of sorts overlooking the front of the house. There were five rooms to the left, and four to the right. This was clearly a substantial home, though such lengths (pfft) were expected of massive creatures. You just hoped you could get out of here, if only to find your own clothes.

The room at the bottom of the stairs was just an entry hall going for the length of the balcony. There was a large fake plant between the door and a single picture window, and the walls were a deep coral orange with dark wood baseboards and molding. It contrasted nicely with the dark grey carpet, and there was a small bottle with a blue flower inside on the table under the windowsill. You couldn’t help touching the flower, and when you did it whispered, “Remember, someone really cares about you.”

A speaking flower…how eerie. But it was right. The thought of your family fills you with determination. You will find a way to convince these creatures to let you go.

However, first you have to get your gear back. They even took your shoes!

There are two doors and an archway in this room. One is the front door, the archway leads to what is clearly the main living area, and when you open the other door it turns out to be a bathroom. It was a little frustrating that there wasn’t a closet right here, but you shake that off and sneak up to the archway.

Inside are several long couches and lots of pillows arranged carefully on the carpet. There is also a television, some game systems, and a collection of dvds. It was amazing to see what monsters had managed to get hold of. You’d write all this down soon enough, probably in your memoirs.

The good news was that the snakes weren’t in here. The bad news was that you could see where they were and it was the room right next door, through another open archway. You ducked behind a sofa and listened to the conversation.

“look, I realize none of us are happy to have an unknown adult human in our home, but we can’t do much about it. The royals said to keep the humans, they never actually set up a place to put’em.” That was Papy, you recognized the slight nasal quality of his voice, though how a skeleton was nasal is beyond you.

Another voice, similar to his but louder and more energetic, “BUT HONEY WE ARE VERY GLAD TO HAVE A NEW HUMAN FRIEND?”

The next responder was a deeper, quieter version of Blue’s, “paps, we aren’t sure if she’s friend or foe yet. Sorry, bro, but I’m on the team against her. at least till she can prove she’s safe.”

“BUT SHE’S A NICE HUMAN! SHE DREW PRETTY PICTURES OF BIRDS AND DIDN’T EVEN LIE TO PAPY WHEN SHE WAS SCARED!” Ah, there’s Blue. You feel a wave of affection for him, since he was defending you, but try to squash it quickly.

“seems we have a visitor.” A large, slightly clawed hand slams down on the middle of your back, pinning you to the ground as warm coils slid around your legs. “m’lord, the human’s up.”

A screechy voice replies to the soft call, “YES! BRING HER IN HERE, MUTT!”

“still don’t get why you call him that,” came Honey’s reply, and you were pulled up bridal style into the arms of another skeleton.

He looked a lot like Honey, Papy, whatever his name was. Except he had crazy sharp teeth, one of them being gold. He also was wearing an orange sweater and a fuzzy lined black coat, as opposed to the hoodie. Catching you staring, he smirked a bit, but didn’t say anything as he brought you in to the kitchen and set you on the table like a serving dish.

Blue gasped and took your hand, stars in his eyes, “HUMAN! YOU SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING. I WAS GOING TO BRING YOU FOOD IN BED!”

You can’t help it, you smile at him. His little gloves were soft on your skin and he was so earnest in his enthusiasm.

“DON’T TOUCH THAT FILTH, IDIOT!” came the screech again, and you turned to find its source on the other side from Blue. He looked like he’d been shopping exclusively at Hot Topic, and wore a dark magenta bandana around his neck. Black crop top, black caps on his shoulders, and a big two pronged scar over his left eye. He had gloves on, too, but they went all the way to his elbows and looked rough.

“hey, Raspberry, don’t.” You looked over at Honey, and he winked at you before continuing, “she’s not filth, as you well know. You and Edge were the ones who insisted on giving her a bath.”

“I ALSO INSISTED. AND HELPED TOO!” the skeleton next to Honey beamed at you, and you felt like he was probably going to be a lot like Blue. He was gangly, like Honey, but dressed more like Blue and this screechy Raspberry. He had white armor on, and a big red scarf around his neck. His sockets sparkled as he explained, “NO ONE ELSE WHO WANTED YOU CLEAN WOULD TOUCH YOU FOR SOME REASON, SO BLUE AND I DID IT. YOU WERE SO TIRED YOU DIDN’T EVEN WAKE UP! ALSO, PLEASE DO NOT BE EMBARRASSED. WE HELP OUR LITTLE HUMANS WITH THEIR BATHS ALL THE TIME SO IT WAS NO TROUBLE!”

You were still embarrassed as a modest adult. To think Blue and this other sweet natured skeleton had seen you nude was…..well, more than shocking. But he didn’t seem bothered by it, and neither did Blue, who as still holding your hand and smiling at his tall companion.

“I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BY THE WAY, BUT SINCE A LOT OF US ARE ACTUALLY NAMED PAPYRUS, YOU CAN CALL ME VANILLA! I LIKE THAT FLAVOR ANYWAY.” He clapped you on the shoulder, a little too strongly, and you ended up flat on the table.

“uh…thanks….I-I’m-“

“WE DON’T CARE WHAT YOUR NAME IS!” came a deeper screech, and you now noticed just how many skeletons were around this table.

Not only was Honey, Blue, Raspberry, and Papyrus there (it just seemed easier at the moment), but so were….so many others. There was a sleepy looking skeleton next to Papyrus that shrugged at you, a red clad one who was glaring at Blue, the fluffy-coated copy of Honey, and a tall nightmare in spiked armor glaring bullets at you. You also could look up at who was previously behind you and saw color-swapped clones of Honey and Blue, but these two were in purple and seemed surprised that you were looking at them. There were also two empty places at the end of the table…and there were deep red stains and smears all around them. You didn’t want to know who was supposed to be there.

The nightmare was the one who had spoken, “YOU’RE OUR PRISONER, HUMAN! AND YOU WILL EITHER BEHAVE OR WE WILL FEED YOU TO THE CANNIBALS!”

“we’re not feeding her to them. They don’t even know she’s here and they won’t, either.” This came from the sleepy one, and though he sounded disinterested, you noticed the tall angry one tense and draw back a bit.

“WELL, EVEN SO, YOU CAN STILL BE TORTURED INTO OBEDIENCE.”

“nope”

“I ALREADY ASKED THAT!” came Raspberry’s addition.

“WHY DON’T WE JUST MAKE HER OUR SERVANT?” came from the purple berry. You looked at him, noticing the little triangles in his sockets. “SHE’S BENEATH US, SURE, BUT SHE’S SO CUTE! I WANT TO SEE HER DO CUTE STUFF!”

“calm a bit, will ya, bro?” the purple Honey asked. You noticed he kept his right eye closed all the time; it made you worry for him despite yourself. He seemed to notice your look and gave you a pat on the head, “she’s been through a lot, and she has to wear Red’s weird pants till hers are clean. Not that I’d mind her wearing less.” He chuckled darkly as you blushed.

“STOP BEING WEIRD!” came Raspberry’s response, and “LEAVE HER ALONE!” from Blue.

The sleepy skeleton stood up (as much as a snake can stand anyway) and silenced the others, then he looked at you. “okay, kid, let’s take this from the top. You know why we have to keep you, right?”

You nod.

“and you understand that we don’t have any intention of actually hurting you?” he lifted his browbone at the others, daring them to contradict him. There was silence.

You nod again. You feel like you can at least trust Blue and Honey, and probably Papyurs. Maybe Mr. Sleepy here, too.

“okay, so basically you’re kinda stuck with us till we can talk to the royals about this. You’re probably gonna meet the human kids who live here with us, since they’re in and out of here. But we have to do a little ‘heart to heart’ first, if you get me.” He looked at you, tilting his head, asking if you did understand.

You didn’t. You shook your head, “I don’t think I do?”

He sighed, and Papyrus patted his head, “DON’T WORRY, SANS, SHE IS FROM THE OUTSIDE. FRISK AND THE OTHERS DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT SOULS WHEN THEY FIRST FELL DOWN EITHER.”

Ah, so this guy was ‘Sans’ too. That’s why Blue was called Blue.

“Souls?” you asked, worried. Was there some sort of cultural taboo that you’d broken? You weren’t exactly into anthropology but you didn’t want to be rude anyway! Especially to someone trying to explain things to you. You’d sat up again by now, so you looked between the four you were sure about trusting for your explanation. You instead got it from the red skelly on Sans’ other side.

“yeah, doll. See, souls are what makes you, you. Everythin’ ya are, is in your soul, got it?” He shrugged, continuing. “You humans don’t seem to be able to normally see or sense souls, though. So we don’t blame ya for not knowin’. I’ll even show ya if ya want.”

“Red…” Sans said warningly, and the one explaining held up his hands in a ‘i am no threat’ gesture.

“I honestly wanna help the kid out, okay, Classic? Geeze, can’t a guy show a little altruism here? I know I’m not known for it but gimme some credit.” His name was Red, like his shirt. Neat. He talked like he was from Brooklyn, too. Also neat.

“It’s okay, uh….Sans? Classic?” You looked at the sleepy guy, and he shrugged. You took that as ‘either is fine’ and moved on, “I’d like to see, since you guys are offering.”


	3. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What weird world have you fallen into?

Red smirked, his own gold tooth glinting in the same position as that Honey clone’s.

“Okay, kid, it’s gonna feel kinda strange, but it won’t hurt’cha.” His left eye glowed crimson, and you felt something heavy lift from your chest. The room was black and white now, as were the skeletons, but you were pleased that you could still tell them apart. They all dressed so differently.

Sans took up the lecture, “okay. See that heart there?” He pointed, and you looked down. Right in front of you was a purple cartoon heart. It pulsed occasionally, jolts of green and blue shooting through it, and there was a crack in one of the round parts. “that is your soul. Yours seems to be based in Perseverance, so that’s nice to know, right? That’s your key trait, the thing you’re best known for.”

The little purple one behind you squealed, “OOH IT’S MY FAVORITE COLOR!!!!”

Honey, for his part, was staring at it and seemed zoned out. You hoped he was alright. “so…is there anything wrong with it? Or…um…do you guys need it for something?”

Red sighed and shook his head, “Kid, we just needed to make sure you weren’t some kinda assassin. Ya can’t lie if you’ve got your soul out; it’ll give ya away like that.” He snapped his fingers and you wondered how he did it without skin.

“right. So we’re gonna ask you some questions while you’re like this. Just answer as best you can.” Sans’ smile (he seemed to always be smiling) twitched up a bit at the corners. He seemed to be reassuring you, so you nodded at him.

“okay. So how did you get to this part of the jungle?” Sans waited for your response.

“well, I came here from America by plane, then took a few boats down the river.” You explain, laying out your journey in your mind, “My guide met me at the village nearby and rowed me over. Then I walked randomly into the woods till Honey and Blue found me.”

Sans seemed satisfied with that, and nodded. Red took the next question, “so ya came on your own? Or were there other humans with ya and ya just got lost?”

“I was alone. I know that’s stupid to go into unknown jungles alone, but I didn’t want a big group of humans around to scare the animals.” You scrunched your eyebrows at the idea.

Honey was next, and his voice was soft, “Who’s waiting for you at home?”

You hadn’t expected that. You feel and see the crack in your SOUL deepen, “My mom. My cousins and my niece and….my family.” There are tears in your eyes again.

The whole table is sobered, and Papyrus and Blue both sniffle, looking to their respective counterparts pleadingly. Sighing, Honey swipes his hand over his face, making a soft, chalky scraping noise, “ugh.”

“My turn.” The guy who’d brought you to the table, Mr. Orange sweater, asked, “so, what’d you do if ya had t’fight us?”

“Fight you?” You were both outraged and frightened, “I can’t fight you! You’re monsters! You’ve got me outnumbered and outgunned! I’d die!”

They seemed surprised, all of them. Sans and Honey had to put a hand on their brothers’ shoulders to make them stay quiet. They would have spilled the truth otherwise and the guardians thought it best to keep her in the dark.

“nah, ‘s ok.” There was a softness to the questioner’s sockets, and he smiled a bit, “you’re good. not gonna make ya. Was a hypothetical, angel. Y’re ok.”

He settled back on his coils while the purple tallness behind you asked, “Last one, babe. You know we got kids around here. How good are ya at handling them?”

“I…” you turn to look at him. His socket is red inside, almost like bloodshot eyes in color, but he seems chill. Hands in his pockets, he shrugs at your gaze. “I’m pretty okay one on one. Never had to deal with any besides my niece though…”

“Fair enough.” He flops down onto himself and seems to go to sleep.

Color slips back into the world as Red releases your soul, “Okay, toots. You’re clean. Ya got nothin’ ta worry about now.”

Blue and Papyrus help you off the table, and hold your hands tenderly. These sweet boys…oh, that reminds you.

“Red?” you ask, startling him.

“uh, yeah?” he has beads of red liquid on his skull suddenly.

“Thank you for the pajamas. These pants are yours, right?” You tug on the fabric and smile a bit, even if you’re still aching inside.

“u-uh sure…y’re welcome.” He brushes it off, but you can tell he’s flattered by the small twitch of a smile.

Papyrus and Blue take you back upstairs, Blue reassuring you, “DON’T WORRY, VANILLA AND I WILL FINISH YOUR LAUNDRY FOR YOU AND THEN WE’LL DO PROPER INTRODUCTIONS LATER.”

Papyrus nodded in agreement, “OF COURSE! WE ARE THE FOREMOST GENTLEMONSTERS IN THE HOUSE, SO WE WILL ENSURE THE COOPERATION OF THE OTHERS.”

Blue stayed with you, explaining that this was HIS room and you were welcome to sleep in his rocket bed as long as you needed. He started on the floor, but after a moment, you asked, “Blue, would you like to come up on the bed, too? It can’t be comfortable to lay on the floor.”

He hesitated, but nodded and slithered up next to you.

You liked Blue. He was kind and empathetic, and seemed to actually care about your happiness and safety.

You two talked for a while. He told you that “the others are my cousins, but Honey is my brother.” You could see that. He seemed most close to Honey, and the two of them just seemed right next to each other.

“Do you and Honey get along well? I mean…it’s clear you two work together easily but…?”

Blue nods, “I LOVE MY BROTHER!” He seems to notice his volume again and lowers it, “He’s so cool. He can talk to people so easily, and everybody at home loves him.” His sockets glowed with star shaped lights. He really did admire Honey.

You open your arms, and the little snake rockets into you, hugging you tight. “And I know you and Honey will be the best of friends cause I saw your souls resonate! When he brought you home, you glowed and he glowed and gosh it was so neat!”

You were about to ask what that meant, when you felt that burning, tingling as something pushed to the front of your chest. OH. That was it. You remembered this, but this time Blue froze and gripped your shirt. Looking down, you saw the purple glow of your soul, and a bright white and cyan one that you guessed was Blue’s. The tingling was softer this time, but still….it felt nice.

It didn’t last long, just a moment or two, but Blue shivered. He resonated. With the human! Just like Honey did!

When it stopped, he looked up into your eyes and beamed, “HUMAN! WE RESONATED! THAT MEANS WE’RE GONNA BE THE BEST OF FRIENDS FOR SURE!!!” He was so excited, he didn’t care if he was loud. Nuzzling in, he kept talking, “OH HUMAN, I’M SO HAPPY! WHEN PAPY AND YOU RESONATED I WAS KINDA JEALOUS ACTUALLY BUT ALSO SO GLAD BECAUSE HONEY NEEDS FRIENDS. BUT NOW I DON’T HAVE TO WORRY THAT HE WON’T LIKE ME ANYMORE BECAUSE YOU’LL LIKE ME TOO AND SO WE CAN ALL THREE BE TOGETHER AND HAPPY!”

“Whoa, whoa, easy, Blue.” She began to stroke his skull and he sighed. “What does resonating mean? It’s a good thing apparently, but humans don’t resonate with each other. AT least….” You looked confused. Blue thought that was cute. “I don’t THINK they do….”

“I’M SURE THEY DO, BUT YOU CAN’T FEEL EACH OTHERS MAGIC SINCE HUMANS DON’T HAVE ANY.” Blue loved showing how smart he was. Sure Honey had the degree, but Blue could keep up with him and Classic and Red any day if they were on the right subject. One of his subjects being relationships! “MISS HUMAN, WHEN TWO SOULS RESONATE, THAT MEANS THEY’RE MEANT TO WORK CLOSELY. LIKE AS BEST FRIENDS! OR MAYBE THEY’RE MEANT TO BE FAMILY.” He blushed, bright blue magic dusting his cheekbones and warming them, “A-AND ALSO…M-MAYBE…AH….D-DATING?”

He couldn’t look at her right now. She was too pretty and he didn’t want to see how she reacted to that idea. She was a different creature, after all, and probably didn’t like him that way, but if he didn’t see the look of disgust he was afraid was there, he could keep his hope.

“Oh really?” You sounded interested, but Blue kept his head against your shoulder.

“Y-YES. B-BUT THERE’S SO MANY POSSIBILITIES. YOU AREN’T OBLIGATED TO ANY OF THEM.” He had to be polite. Blue was nothing if not gallant!

“I’d love to be your bestie, Blue. That’s as good a place to start as any, right?” Your soft voice was heavenly, and Blue was so glad you wanted to be friends. He’d take that. Friendship was enough.

“YES! BUT WE WERE ALREADY FRIENDS. I MADE A PROMISE TO MAKE YOU HAPPY, AND I CAN’T THINK OF ANY BETTER DECLARATION OF FRIENDSHIP!” He smiled and finally looked at you in the face. You were happy! He wrapped his coils around you gently for a proper hug. His life just kept getting better.

Honey, listening outside the door, sighed. So not only did you resonate with him, but with his baby brother, too. That…both complicated things and made them easier. If you were resonant with both of them, you were gonna be important in both their lives. He didn’t have to worry about protecting you alone (though Blue would have done so anyway because he’s too precious). But now…what did this mean? Usually only family resonated with more than one new person at a time. Like parents meeting the kid they were going to adopt. You were definitely not being adopted; you were being forced to live here. And you were made of Perseverance, so you would probably keep trying to escape, even if you did clearly care about Blue. He could feel the kind intent even from here. You had no idea how strong your soul was, how it radiated your thoughts and feelings like a small sun. It always amazed him how oblivious humans were.

Still, when you did leave, Blue would be heartbroken. Honey was expecting it, it wouldn’t bother him any more than the rest of the emotional trauma in his life, but Blue…he was so much more tenderhearted. He’d have to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn’t hurt him too badly. After all, with humans, if they wanted something, they’d get it eventually. It was only a matter of time.

You and Blue just cuddled for a bit. It felt so good, even if you were still frightened of most of the occupants in the house, to know that someone was on your side. He kept assuring you that Honey and the others would talk to the royals to try and get you home, but that in the meantime he’d guard you like a precious treasure. You couldn’t stop thinking that the treasure was him.

After a while, Papyrus came back, holding your things, “HERE YOU ARE, LADY HUMAN! NOW THAT YOUR PROPER CLOTHES ARE CLEAN AND DRY, YOU CAN CHANGE AND COME DOWN FOR PROPER INTRODUCTIONS.”

Blue perked up and let you go, asking the other skeleton, “VANILLA, HAVE WE STARTED MAKING DINNER YET? IF NOT, I WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR OUR GUEST!”

Papyrus nodded eagerly and set the clothes down on the edge of the bed. “YES! ALSO, WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED OF THE CUDDLE PARTY? YOU KNOW I AM AN ESPECIALLY CUDDLY SKELETON!”

Blue giggled and looked at you, silently asking permission. You smile a bit and nod, so Blue motions for Papyrus to join you, “BECAUSE WE DIDN’T KNOW YOU WANTED IN! COME HERE!”

Eager to join, the larger skele-snake slid onto the bed and around both of you easily, his long arms wrapping around you and Blue. “OH BLUEBERRY, THIS IS WONDERFUL! HUMAN CUDDLING IS SUCH A WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE!”

“I KNOW, VANILLA, I KNOW!” Blue giggled and nuzzled you. You leaned back into Papyrus’ chest and sighed. As much as you wanted to go home….right now things were okay. You realized these guys were technically part of the new environment, so….maybe you should write about them? You’d be the first to!

“Guys, would you mind if I write down what goes on around here? Honey didn’t seem to like the idea when he saw my sketchbook earlier, but….none of the humans out there know about you. They don’t realize you’re nice.” You wanted to make sure that was known. They were keeping you, sure, but that was the law. These two were harmless as butterflies.

“THAT’S A WONDERFUL IDEA!” Papyrus crowed, “YOU ARE A SCIENTIST LIKE DR. ALPHYS, SO THEY WILL BELIEVE YOU. YOU CAN WRITE ALL ABOUT HOW GREAT I AM!”

“AND HOW MAGNIFICENT I AM!” Blue added, excited by the prospect.

“And how cool your brother is?” You ask Blue, but Papyrus interjects.

“MY BROTHER IS ALSO VERY COOL! OUR COUSINS ARE COOL, TOO, BUT SANS IS THE COOLEST.”

Blue made a face, “COUSIN PAPY, YOU FORGET WE ALREADY HAD THIS ARGUMENT! NOBODY’S BROTHER IS COOLER THAN ANYBODY ELSES BECAUSE WE ALL LOVE THEM TOO MUCH TO CHANGE OUR OPINION.”

You let them banter for a bit, then stopped them. “As nice as hugging and cuddling is, boys, I have to get dressed so I can more properly meet your brothers and cousins.”

“OH!” Papyrus untangled his coils from Blue and your legs so quickly you sort of spun around on the bed. “I AM SO SORRY! I COMPLETELY FORGOT. COME, BLUEBERRY, WE SHALL GO DOWNSTAIRS AND BEGIN PREPARATIONS FOR SPECIAL DINNER!”

“OH YES!” your eager little friend slid off as well, waving as he left, “TAKE YOUR TIME! WE WILL BE HAPPY TO WAIT FOR YOU!”

You usher them out and giggle. Cute. You get dressed and fold up the clothes you were given neatly.


	4. Settling in

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life is certainly different here, but it's not bad

Downstairs, the others are chattering amongst themselves. You didn’t bother listening in; rather, you went into the living room and smiled. Time to put on your grant presentation face.

The talking stopped. Every pair of sockets in the room fixed on you, and you wished you’d had the forethought to put a hairbrush in your little fannypack on your belt. No time for that now, though. Stepping forward, you stood in the center of the circle of pillows and sofas, blushing a bit from the tension in the room.

Honey broke it for you, “So, just introduce yourself. Y’know, like those exercises at school. Favorite color and such.”

Oh, that was easy, “Hi! I’m _____ and my favorite color is blue! I like cats, don’t have any pets, and my favorite season is winter.”

Raspberry rolled his eyelights and huffed, while Grape giggled, “YOU’RE SO WEAK! IF YOU WEREN’T UNDER CLASSIC’S PROTECTION I COULD TRAP YOU EASILY!”

Red smiled, a little creepily to be honest, but didn’t speak, and the others just seemed mildly interested.

A screech came from the kitchen, “COME TO DINNER. AND YOU’D BETTER EAT WHAT WE GIVE YOU, HUMAN.” That was the nightmare.

Sans got up and stood next to you. “I’ll name everybody for you when we get seated. Sit between me’n Honey.”

You nodded, noting that when he was comfortably standing, Sans was about half an inch shorter than you.

Papyrus pulled the pedestal-style chair out for you, kind of him since it was his chair you were stealing, and as you sat down you jolted from the sound of a whoopee cushion going off. “SANS! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO PRANK THE HUMANS?!”

Several members of the table snickered or stifled giggles, and Sans just winked before answering his brother, “Sorry, paps. Gotta be careful, there are weirdos who put those on the seats around here.”

You laughed. Honestly that was a great prank; it hurt nobody and made lots of laughs. Sans’ smile got wider and deeper, eye lights sparkling eagerly.

“YOU’D BETTER FEEL LUCKY SHE LAUGHED, CLASSIC!” Blue huffed, “I WOULD HAVE WORDS WITH YOU IF YOU’D HURT HER FEELINGS!”

“I know, blue. I was counting on her being an easy going type.” Classic was more than pleased with your laughter, and it seemed to encourage several of the others, too. “anyway, so you’ve met my bro, and Blue, and Honey, and me’n Red, probably Raspberry too. So let’s go down the list.”

He pointed to the nightmare and said, “That’s Red’s brother, Edge.” Then to the clone who’d found you behind the couch, “His name is Syrup, but Razzy calls him mutt for some reason.” And then to the two purple brothers, “and that’s Grape and Violet.”

Violet waved his right hand, “yo, cutie.”

Sans added quietly, “We’ve got two other guys living here, but they’re not safe for humans to be around. We keep their section of the house locked off from our section, so you’re safe so long as you’re in the house. If you see me, or Paps, and we look a little….off? You run inside and fast.”

Papyrus, still behind you, nodded sagely, “CHOMPERS IS ALRIGHT BY HIMSELF BUT AXE IS A BIT GRUMPY MOST DAYS. LET US HANDLE THEM.”

You are worried with someone named ‘Axe’ being nearby, but nod. You’re suddenly very glad Blue lent you his room.

“ALRIGHT” Edge grumbled, voice gravelly and tense, “IF WE’RE DONE PLAYING HOUSE CAN WE PLEASE GET ON WITH DINNER?”

You nod, and Papyrus takes his seat in the red section of the table. Honey leans over when he sees you looking, “that stain is from the one time those other two tried to live with us. Do not EVER eat anything they give you. Just trust me.” The more you hear about these guys, the less you want to meet them.

Before you can talk about anything else, Blue sets plates in front of everyone. There are three things on the plate, and you can only vaguely identify two of them. Spaghetti with….chunks of tomatoes in it on one part of the plate, tacos with sprinkles and blueberry syrup on another, and finally some sort of indescribable lump with hot sauce over the top.

You supposed food was food, and everyone here was so kind that you might as well try it.

That was a mistake.

The spaghetti was burnt on the bottom to the point of sticking to the plate, the combination of sugar and meat was mind-blowingly bad, and you didn’t even take a bite of the lump when you cut it and found glass inside.

“um….?” You looked at both Honey and Sans when you found the glass.

Sans looks at Honey, who nods and….does something to the plate. The food (?) disappears when he’s sure no one is looking. Sans whispers, “just tell them it was good. if you can help them not do that again, we’d all appreciate it.”

Looks like business number one is teaching these snakes how to cook properly.

It seems most of the skeletons did something similar to their plates, but….Blue, Papyrus, and Edge were actually eating it? And when you looked around, so were Razzy and Grape? How???

Razzy finished his first and looked at Edge, “AS USUAL, THIS WAS SHIT. YOU THREE CAN’T COOK FOR BEANS. I WOULD HAVE MADE SOMETHING AT LEAST SOMEWHAT APPETIZING.”

Grape added eagerly, “LIKE NACHOS!”

“NO!” Razzy slammed his hand down, “LIKE ENCHILLADAS, YOU DOLT!”

“but you two are banned from the kitchen until you can not explode and/or melt half of it during cooking,” Sans pointed out.

Papyrus nodded, “EVEN I HAD TO PROMISE TO TURN DOWN THE FIRE SO AS NOT TO BURN OR MELT THE PANS.”

Oh good heavens how did these guys SURVIVE this?

“Um…it was really nice, boys, but….would you mind if I cooked next time? I’m sure you all would like some authentic human cooking.” You thought this would be the best way to start.

“OH BOY!” Papyrus and Blue both said the same thing at the same time, then laughed.

“I WOULD NOT!” Edge growled, “IF THE HUMAN COOKS, I WILL VACATE THE HOUSE!”

“I WON’T LET THE PEASANT COOK BEFORE ME!” Razzy screamed, banging the table with his fists like an angry toddler.

“NOOOOOO! I DESERVE TO COOK INSTEAD OF HER!” Grape pouted and sniffled, pulling at Violet’s jacket, “I’M THE BEST COOK HERE, RIGHT, BROTHER?”

“sure you are, bro,” came the soft reply, Violet patting Grape on the head, “but we gotta listen to classic or we’re in deep doodoo, okay?”

Sans, seeing the tantrums brewing, said, “How about you guys can cook WITH her if you swear to do what she says? If she says not to use something, you don’t, if she says to turn down the heat, you do it. Capiche?”

The three angry skeletons turned to him, then to you, then back.

Edge just stood and left.

Razzy and Grape looked at each other, then stood up and slid over to you, each grabbing an arm.

“IF I AM ALLOWED TO MAKE MY MASTERPIECE, I WILL….CONSIDER YOUR OFFER, CLASSIC,” Razzy grinned at you wickedly.

Grape nuzzled your arm, “SHE’S GOING TO LIKE MY NACHOS BETTER! RIGHT?” He looked up, a somehow menacing beam directed toward you.

Honey picked them both up by the collar as he got up, “leave her alone, you two. You aren’t gonna cook tonight, anyway, so just cool it. Go scheme somewhere else.”

He handed the troublemakers to their respective brothers and then slid up behind you, resting his jaw on your head, “y’know, it’ll be nice to have somebody cook besides the usual, for once. You got any idea what you’ll make?”

“Nope.” You smile, just letting Honey do his thing. He was supposed to be your best friend after all, right? “But I’ll see what kind of ingredients you guys have and make due. You learn a lot of neat recipes when you’re scrimping by on a college budget.”

Red, who was still there, sighed, “don’t we know it, doll? The three of us together’ve all got some pretty hefty degrees. You a PhD yet?”

That surprised you for a moment; they didn’t seem the studious types. But, after getting over that, you answered, “Actually…this trip was research for my doctorate in ecology.”

All three of them stiffened, and you heard Papyrus and Blue pause where they’d been cleaning the dishes.

“that so?” Red drawled slowly, eyes darting away quickly.

“mmhm…don’t worry, though.” You sighed, deciding to bring up your idea, “I thought of something better to research.”

“and that is?” Sans asked, tilting his skull your way.

“You guys.” You beamed, liking their stunned faces. “You are all technically species unknown to mankind. Your culture, your family dynamics, your biology in general are new, and the places you came from are likely filled with ecosystems unlike anything I know. So!” You feel Honey’s hands go to your shoulders and grip. “There’s a whole lot for me to do while you all negotiate my release. I’ll help when I can, but I doubt the word of some human will get far with monster royalty. I’ll just make notes while I’m here!”

After a second or two, Papyrus broke the heavy silence, “I, FOR ONE, THINK THIS IS A SPLENDID IDEA.”

“but, paps-“ Sans tried to interrupt.

“NO, BROTHER, IT IS! SHE IS A SCIENTIST, AND A VERY GOOD ONE IF SHE IS ABOUT TO GET HER PHD. HER WORD WILL GO MUCH FARTHER IN PROVING WE ARE GENIAL THAN THE CHILDREN’S, NO MATTER HOW EARNEST AND DETERMINED THEY ARE.” Papyrus shooed Honey off you, bonking his teeth to your head in what you assumed was an affectionate gesture, “I HAVE ALREADY DECIDED SHE IS OUR NEWEST COUSIN. BLUE HEARTILY AGREES WITH ME. WE WILL TEACH HER OUR WAYS AND SHE WILL RECORD HOW LOVELY HER STAY WAS SO THAT WHEN SHE DOES GET TO GO HOME AND BECOME A DOCTOR OF SCIENCE OR WHATEVER, SHE CAN HELP OUR CAUSE.”

And with that, and Blue’s elated, “EEEEE!” in response to only getting a sigh from the others in the room, was how you became part of the skeleton household.

Out of your new ‘family’, you quickly learned who to go to for what.

If you wanted info on the household, such as who did what chores and domestics like that, you asked Vanilla. He seemed to be in charge of such things.

If you wanted to know about rules and regulations, you’d ask Edge. He was obsessed with rules and seemed to love the ego boost of explaining them to you.

About other monsters? Ask Blue.

Where to get food? Ask Classic.

Where to get some alone time? Syrup. You’d actually had to ask him about this once when your fan club (Blue and Vanilla) had ‘trained’ you to near death and then wanted to dance to MTT or DPB music. He was the only one in the living room and you’d needed a place to hide.

Pretty much every one of the guys had something they were the expert on. Razzy was the financial one, Honey was the entertainment guru, Grape had a nearly photographic memory of the town around the house, and Violet seemed to have memorized the various likes and dislikes of everybody in the house.

That just left Red. He seemed to be avoiding you for some reason. Though he was always playful when you did manage to catch him with the others, as soon as you were alone, he’d teleport (yes teleport!) away.

You’d already been here two weeks, now, he should be used to you. You have a feeling if Syrup was used to you already, and Edge had stopped avoiding you, that Red should be alright as well.

While doing the now-nightly cooking lesson with the ‘kitchen crew’, you asked quietly, “Edge, is there some reason Red won’t stay alone in a room with me? Did I do something wrong in the rules?”

He huffed and put down the knife and the cucumbers he was chopping for the salad tonight, “HUMAN, MY BROTHER IS AN ABSOLUTE IDIOT. EVEN I DON’T KNOW HOW HE THINKS, IF HE DOES AT ALL.”

Blue piped up, “WELL, I THINK IT’S BECAUSE HE’S SHY.”

“SHY? MY SANS?” Edge broke out laughing. “HAVE YOU NOT SEEN HOW HE REACTS TO HER? OR ANY FEMALE FOR THAT MATTER?”

Blue sighed, setting the colander down from his lettuce washing, “EDGE, YOUR BROTHER IS FLIRTY ALL THE TIME. IT’S HOW HE IS. BUT HE’S JUST LIKE MY BROTHER AND CLASSIC; THEY KEEP THEIR SOULS BEHIND WALLS. DON’T TELL ME YOU DON’T NOTICE HOW HE AVOIDS SUBJECTS THAT ARE UNCOMFORTABLE?”

Vanilla added, “YES! I’VE SEEN IT TOO!”

Edge nodded slowly, hand against his chin in thought, “NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, YES….HE DOES SEEM VERY GOOD AT CHANGING SUBJECTS.”

You sighed, “I just don’t want to have offended him. I know I’m just a human but I want to be his friend, too….”

“YOUR WISH IS RIDICULOUSLY SENTIMENTAL, BUT I’M SURE IT’S THE SORT OF THING HE’D APPRECIATE,” Edge rolled his eyelights, “I WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. LET’S JUST GET THIS INFIRIOR MEAL FINISHED.”

Despite their opposition to the derogatory statements, the other two continued their work again. You also went back to the strawberries in your hand, capping and halving them.


	5. Red and the human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reluctant snakes get forced to socialize

Red was avoiding the human. He felt bad about it, really, but he just couldn’t look at her.

She was kind, just like Frisk had been, but this human was an adult and a woman, and he didn’t want to be creepy. His brother loved her (as much as Edge could express that by being tolerant of her) and that just made it worse. Blue had even let slip that she’d resonated with him.

Life just wasn’t fair for him.

Classic had tried to make it better; giving him things to do outside the house, taking him with on the visits to the royals, things like that. Out of everybody, Classic always tried to look out for him. He appreciated the effort even if it was slightly irritating. He was a big monster, he shouldn’t feel like this.

He nearly had a heart attack when he saw his brother standing in front of his room, or he would have if…well y’know.

“BROTHER, YOU NEED TO SPEAK WITH THE HUMAN.” Edge had his ‘don’t question me’ face on, and Red had to stop himself from bolting.

“e-eh….can I ask why, boss?”

“BECAUSE I SAID SO. AND ALSO BECAUSE SHE IS WORRIED SHE HAS OFFENDED YOU, EVEN THOUGH YOU ARE OFFENSIVE BY JUST EXISTING.” Edge had his arms crossed, and his tailtip was tapping the ground.

“boss, c’mon….she’s just a human. Can’t I just….ignore ‘er?”

That was the wrong response. “NO! YOU MUST CONFRONT YOUR PROBLEMS! STOP BEING A LAZY ASS!” Edge thumped his tail angrily and Red shrank in on himself. “SHE IS THE ONLY THING KEEPING ME FROM FORCING KNIVES DOWN YOUR THROAT ON A REGULAR BASIS SO YOU’RE GOING TO TALK TO HER ABOUT YOUR STUPID FEELINGS!”

“alright! Alright, boss, sure, whatever you say.” Red held his hands up, trying to placate his brother quickly. “I’ll go talk to ‘er right now.” Geeze he hated when they couldn’t talk in private. Edge was so much gentler in private.

“GOOD.” Edge settled and slid across to his own door, “SHE IS IN THE LIVING ROOM READING ONE OF THOSE HUMAN HISTORY COMICS CLASSIC BORROWED FROM ALPHYS.”

Red nodded and shot back downstairs as fast as his tail would take him. He would not argue with Edge when he was like that.

You looked up from the manga in your hand when you heard someone clear their throat. Red was in front of you, looking rather harried. You’re guessing that was who Edge had been ranting at a minute ago. “You okay, Red?”

“yeah, doll, ‘m fine. Just uh….bro said you wanted ta talk ta me?” He seemed really nervous, but that had become normal for interacting with you.

“Well, yes, but I didn’t expect him to yell at you for it. Sorry about that.” You hadn’t meant to get him in trouble, not at all.

He waved you off, “Don’ worry about it. Just how he is, I’m used to it. So…what’a ya wanna talk about?”

Putting your comic down, you look at him directly, “Red, I just….you’ve been avoiding me and I wanted to know why. Did I do some kind of social faux pas or something?”

“no, no, geeze, no.” Red settled in his coils with a sigh and leaned back, “Look, doll, I’m just gonna come out and say it. I dunno how ta handle you.”

“huh?”

He made a sweeping gesture, “all tha kids are pretty similar. Determined, flirty little snark masters, the lot of ‘em. ‘cept aliza but she’s been through too much and deserves the quiet now. But anyway, you’re new. Never dealt with a human that was another adult. And my usual code for grown ladies is kinda out the window what with us bein’ different creatures and all, and also classic would be on my ass bout it.”

Interested, you leaned in closer, “so you aren’t usually so funny around women?”

“funny? Hehe, kid, I’m a Sans. We’ve all got some kinda sense’a humor. Nah, usually I’m flirtin’ up a storm and gettin’ dirty with it.” He gives you a predatory smirk and you feel yourself blush. “But not with you. I don’t know how you’d take it, and like I said, classic.” He points upward and you’re guessing he’s indicating where Classic’s room is. “Also Honey, now that I think about it. He’s dang protective of ya, too. And he’s almost as scary when ya piss him off.”

“you’ve got quite a colorful vocabulary, don’t you?” You say dryly. It’s not that it bothers you; you just find it odd since most of the others haven’t sworn around you as much.

“eh, rough world, rough characters, y’know? My section’a the underground was kill or be killed, so ya learned to act tough and be tough pretty quick. Why, ya don’t like it?” He looked at you and you could tell he wanted an answer.

“I don’t care, really. I’m a modern girl; the internet doesn’t come with a censor.” He seemed to like this response and relaxed more.

“okay, we’ll get on fine then.” He went quiet, and you did as well, just looking him over. Black jacket with brown-ish fuzz lining it, yellow accents, a thick red sweater underneath. The long spine that wound through his transparent red coils looked worn, cracks littering the ribs and rough healed fractures standing out clearly. He wasn’t kidding about having to be tough.

“like whatcha see, doll?” He teased, and you sighed.

“Actually yeah,” you turned your eyes to his face and watched the surprise glow in his sockets, “I haven’t really taken the time to look at you guys for more than a few seconds. Your bodies are so unique, and I like noticing the little differences.”

His face flushed with magic, bright red, and he looked away, “eh…thanks? So, ah, ecology, what’s that about? I’m a physics guy, so….biology and stuff ain’t my forte.”

“oh yeah! basically ecology is about the study of how humans and other creatures contribute to and effect their surroundings and the health of the planet in general. There’s a little bit of botany, a little bit of biology, and some other bits and pieces in it, but it’s really its own science.” Red is actually listening, seeming surprised.

“ya don’t say? So you’re tryin’ ta save the environment or something? What for?” You didn’t mind that he questioned your job. It was actually the normal response.

“Humanity has grown so much and created so many things, that we’ve forgotten that we can hurt the earth with our trash and the toxic chemicals that come from our farms and factories. I’m just trying to do my part.” He put his arms behind his head and you just watched. He looked pensive, contemplating what you had said.

“heh….never thought humans could mess up something so big. Guess you guys aren’t as perfect as ya think, huh?” He gets a bitter tone to his voice and glares at the ceiling. “ya done made a whole new science to fix yer mess.”

“basically yeah.” You look down at your hands. You didn’t blame Red, or any other monster, for disliking humans, even hating them. Most of the time you didn’t like your own species yourself. You wanted to save the planet for everyone else. For the animals and plants who didn’t ask to be killed by greenhouse gases and trash in the oceans.

Noticing your quiet moment, Red jolted out of his hate-trance and backpedaled, “h-hey, it’s not anything against you personally.”

“No, I know that.” You made a motion to reassure him you understood. “I don’t like humanity as a whole most of the time, either. There are just individuals that are good, but as a group we’re rather stupid.”

“heh, well, just so ya know, monsters aren’t much better in that department. I mean, they love those stupid robot guys way too much, right?” His smirk was more of an encouraging half smile right now.

“hehehe, yeah. I mean, if I had to pick one, I’d pick Dapperbot, but….they’re all kinda over the top for me,” you don’t want him to feel bad.

He nodded, then said, “eh, think I’ll just stay here for the night. The other guys are all upstairs already, right?”

“yeah, ‘cept Blue, but he’s doing some kind of late night training with his Alphys.”

Red settled fully and closed his eyes, “good. Anyway, ya better go up yourself, babe. ‘s late.”

Reluctantly, you don’t want this rare moment of openness with him to end, you get up. “I’ll see you in the morning, Red. Goodnight.”

“night.” He breathed deeply and then went still, presumably trying to sleep.

You take your leave and go back into Blue’s room. You’ve no doubt you’ll wake up with a bright cyan tail around your feet like you have every morning since you’ve lived here.


	6. Tension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new face enters the household

The landing was quiet, but a shape moved in the dark. The door to Blue’s bedroom slid open silently, and just as the figure was about to enter, a voice broke the silence.

“kinda late for a visit, isn’t it?”

Jumping at being found out and the sudden light in the hall as the switch was flipped, Honey hissed slightly.

Sans was in the doorway of his room, wearing a white t-shirt and an expression of questioning, “what’s the occasion? No blue in there to guard tonight, bud.”

“don’t you think I know that?” Honey sighed and rubbed his arms, not able to look at the other serpent.

“so what’s with the visit? I know you go in there every night, and your expression right now isn’t a worried one. It’s a ‘got caught in the cookie jar’ one. What do you want with the human?” He wasn’t about to let something odd go on in this house, not when a human was involved and his Toriel knew about it. He’d made a promise and he was going to keep it.

Honey’s face lit up a soft golden-orange, “you swear you’ll keep it a secret if I tell you? Like, secret as the void secret?”

Sans quirked a browbone, but nodded.

“okay….so Blue and I’ve kinda….resonated with the human,” it took everything in Honey’s soul to not hide his face in his hoodie.

“you coulda told us that sooner, bonehead,” came Red’s rough tone from the foot of the stairs. “and before ya ask, I heard ya talkin’ and saw the light.” He wasn’t about to let info on the human get by him.

Sans agreed, “knowing you’d resonated with her would have made things a bit easier. Can’t resonate with someone who wants you dead.”

“I know,” Honey sighed, rubbing his arm awkwardly, “but it’s kinda private and I didn’t intend to so…plus I had to protect her.”

“From the crazies downstairs?” Red had gotten to the balcony now.

“And maybe from you guys.” Honey looked at him seriously. “You and your brother, and those four on the other end of the hall.”

“Hey, what’d me’n tha Boss do wrong?” Red was honestly offended.

Sans chuckled slightly, “Well, you are kinda rough, Red. And your track record with women isn’t spotless.”

“okay okay, fine, but if I knew ya’d resonated with ‘er I woulda backed off. I’m not totally irredeemable.” He huffed and crossed his arms.

Honey relaxed some, “So can I just do my little routine here and we not talk about this anymore?”

Sans was about to drop the subject, but then he asked, “Hey, you said it was you AND blue?”

“yeah, and I know that’s weird. But it was me first, then him. I’m just worried about what’s gonna happen when she finally finds a way out of here. And you know she will.” All three of them fell silent at that thought.

The silence was broken when another door opened and Violet stuck his head out of his room, “Uh, guys, hate to break up the ‘secret spilling’ party, but some of us sleep.”

“oh yeah, sorry, Vi,” Honey assured, sliding into Blue’s room and shutting the door. Sans flicked the light off, and he and Red retreated to their rooms.

For once, the human woke up first. Blinking her eyes in the darkness, she stayed still while her mind and body caught up to being awake.

Blue had his arms around her waist, cuddled up against her tightly with his coils loose around her legs. She smiled warmly, gently stroking his skull. She loved this little sweetie dearly. After almost a month of living here, he’d never failed to treat her with respect. Blue had even shown her around town, introducing her to his friends, and treating her to some nice-cream (ice cream but with a lovely compliment on the wrapper).

As much as you missed your family…your life…well, things were so much simpler here. You did little things for the boys. You did the laundry, and cooked (while teaching the five wannabe chefs), and you talked about human cultures. When you were done with what chores you could do, you usually ended up with Honey on some sofa or the pillow pile. Somehow you never got a chance to touch the cushions, since Honey had already mastered coiling around you in a somewhat comfortable manner. You almost suspected he did that to make sure he didn’t have to share you. Red had started talking to you, too, and it turned out he was pretty witty along with being smart and rough. He’d even taken to sitting in on the cooking lessons with his brother, though he tended to be more subdued anytime Edge was around.

You wrote down anything they told you now, about monsters in general or about themselves. After your first night, you’d gotten your sketchbook back, along with a purple notebook that came with a note from Classic.

“Nice work on the drawings, kiddo. Here’s something for your notes so you can keep an eye-socket on us. 😉 -sans”

Blue told you it was Classic’s writing when he saw it.

When did you stop thinking of them as ‘the monsters’ and start thinking of them as ‘the boys’ or even your boys? You couldn’t remember.

You still wished you could talk to your mother, though. At least to tell her you weren’t dead or anything. But…you were a scientist, and you honestly had started to enjoy your life studying and just living with the monsters. You couldn’t pass up this opportunity, and you honestly didn’t want to.

Blue smiled in his sleep, and you nearly melted. Whatever happened, you were staying…even after the royals let you go. You could never hurt Blue by leaving; if you left, you could probably never come back. You didn’t want to think of never seeing him, or Honey, again….you even would miss Red. Oh gosh, and Papyrus…the big cutie would probably half drown himself in tears. No, leaving was out of the question.

The idea of building your life with so many good friends filled you with determination. You’d find a way to reassure your old family without sacrificing your new one.

Blue’s alarm began to chime softly, and his eyelights blinked slowly before looking up at you.

“Morning, sleepyhead. I was up first this time,” You murmur to him, amused at the little pout he got when he realized he had ‘lost’ the game.

“AMAZING.” He was loud even this early and still half asleep. “I AM IMPRESSED. LET US GET UP AND GREET THE MORNING!”

He slithered out of the rocket bed easily, and you followed, letting him go to the closet and retrieve his day clothes before you took your turn to do the same. The boys had scrounged around the house and given you various old shirts of theirs, but it seemed only Red’s odd pajama pants collection existed in the way of bottoms. Those had to be procured from other places, mostly the local shop that sold things recovered from the rivers that ran through the area or from the scavengers who returned to the waterfall area underground. Apparently, there was some connection to a large landfill of some kind that caused water to carry trash into massive piles down there.

Papyrus gave you the usual morning bear hug when you made it downstairs, “GOOD MORNING, COUSIN! WHAT IS FOR BREAKFAST TODAY?” He’d always call you ‘cousin’ and it warmed your heart with the sincerity in the endearment. Papyrus honestly thought of you like his cousin, as family, and you gladly accepted him as yours.

“I thought biscuits and gravy with bacon sounded good. It’s pretty popular where I come from.” You’re unapologetically a southern girl when it comes to cooking. This was your comfort breakfast, and you were sure the boys would enjoy it if they just tried it.

“SO WE WILL BE HAVING GRAVY FOR BREAKFAST? OH NOVEL!” Papyrus, enthusiastic as always, set you down again and gave you a pat on the head, “I WILL HELP BLUE AND EDGE WAKE THE OTHERS BEFORE WE COME AID YOU IN YOUR COOKERY!”

You giggled and headed into the living room to get to the kitchen.

Only there was already someone in the kitchen.

He looked so much like Classic, but his shirt was stained with rusty brown spatters, and there was a massive hole in the side of his skull. His eyes…one was blank and the other had a massive red light inside that focused on you.

Every part of your instinct told you to RUN.

There was no kindness in that smile, slowly creeping into a disturbing smirk as he stared you down.  
It was only a familiar tingle of magic and the scent of lavender smoke that brought you out of your ‘deer in the headlights’ moment.

Honey was beside you, a sweet-smelling cigarette hanging from his jaw. His tail slowly coiled around you and brought you behind him as he drawled, “you’re up early, spooks. What’s the occasion?” There was nothing in his voice that betrayed the tension in the air, but you could feel his magic building around you.

The terrifying serpent at the table shrugged, eye now turning to Honey. His voice was even scratchier than Edge’s but there was a sinuous quality under it that left you shuddering, “not much, sugar bear.” It was clear that name was an insult instead of an endearment, the sarcasm dripping, “just thought I’d come see what that delectable smell was coming from. Seems you’ve all got a new pet.”

“She’s not a pet; she’s a guest,” Honey mentioned casually as Papyrus and Edge both came down.

You were clinging to Honey’s hoodie, hiding your face. You didn’t like this guy at all.

Papyrus, angel of happiness that he was, seemed elated, “AXE! WHAT A LOVELY SURPRISE! ARE YOU AND YOUR BROTHER JOINING THE FAMILY THIS MORNING? I’M SURE OUR LOVELY HUMAN FRIEND AND OUR COOKING TEAM CAN EASILY ACCOMMODATE TWO EXTRA SETTINGS!”

Before Honey could object, Axe switched to a placating, soft tone, “how could I say no to such a polite invitation? Sure thing, little guy. ‘m sure my brother will love having some time with our friends.” He looked at Honey challengingly as he said ‘friends’ but didn’t do anything else.

Pleased, Papyrus slithered into the kitchen and began getting out pans and things. “OH WAIT. HONEY, COULD YOU BRING THE HUMAN? WE NEED HER TO MAKE THE FOOD.”

“oh yeah. I know I love that human touch,” Axe teased, his eyelight lidding in amusement at his own morbid joke.

Honey slid you into his arms and carried you in, always keeping well away from the threat at the table, “hey, buddy, why don’t I help you guys today? I’m kind of curious what my bro finds so fun about cooking.” You knew he was only asking to keep close to you for safety.

“OH NO.” Edge piped up, “YOU ARE A BUNGLER LIKE MY BROTHER. NO. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED IN HERE. SIT AT THE TABLE OR SOMETHING, BUT DO NOT EVEN ATTEMPT COOKING!” He glared until Honey sat you down and backed off.

You felt vulnerable. Ever since you began cooking with Papyrus and Edge (Blue came in a little late from looking for his brother and Razzy and Grape were out training), Axe had never taken his eye off you. You could feel that red circle against your back, as if it was a heat laser.

Honey had taken his place at the table, but whenever you passed him, the tip of his tail would brush your shoes. You took that as a sign he was watching out for you. Papyrus and Blue were oblivious as usual, but you noticed Edge working closer to you and glancing at your ‘guest’ more than once. So even if he was one of the boisterous ones, it seemed Edge was more aware than some.

You were getting the biscuits in the oven when Axe asked Honey bluntly, “So which one of you is banging her?”

Blue and Papyrus blushed brightly, and Edge screeched, “NONE OF US, YOU HALF-MAD IDIOT! DON’T BE CRUDE!”

“Sorry,” Axe returned sarcastically, “I just expected someone to get some sugar from those sweet buns.” He saw you looking and got an evil gleam in his eye. He didn’t mean that as a compliment. You remembered being told he and his brother were cannibals; you felt the bottom drop out of your stomach as you realized he was sizing you up as food.

“M-MISS _____ IS NOT THAT KIND OF HUMAN, AXE!” Blue defended you, quickly coiling around your feet and placing himself between you and the line of sight for Axe. “SHE IS A SCIENTIST AND VERY SHY ACTUALLY!”

You felt a little less scared, at least until Honey says, “besides, she doesn’t taste that great. Take it from me, I know.”

Something inside your head clicks and you recall some things about your trip here.

You stifle a scream and struggle away from a very concerned and confused Blue. You had to leave, to get out of the house right now. You couldn’t….no.


	7. Resolve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> That was a big mistake. Time to fix it.

Honey realized his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. He could feel the tension in your soul already, ever since you’d seen Axe. It had woken him up instantly and sent him teleporting to your side. He’d always been the more sensitive between himself and Blue when it came to soul stuff.

The fear had been building despite his attempts to ease you as best he could, and with that one mess up he’d caused it to break. He almost heard the crack as you bolt; that was going to take a long time to heal your broken trust and soul.

“shoot,” he muttered and dashed after you as fast as his tail would carry him.

He didn’t have to check to see if Axe had followed you, he’d felt the magic of the teleport. You were in danger now not only from your own panic but from a sadistic man-eater who was out to hurt them any way he could.

Luckily for Honey, the resonance of your souls let him feel out where you were in relation to him. Your blind panic was clearly heading for the small creek that ran through town. Maybe you thought a swim would calm you down, or, more likely, you hoped to follow the stream out to the main river and escape.

He should have told you before now. Should have confessed to the unusual travel method he’d used. The hypnotism. But he was scared. Anything you felt, he knew it. Thank goodness you were human and weren’t in tune enough with your soul to feel his emotions as well, or you’d have known. Then again, you’d have known how much he wanted to protect you, too, if you could feel it.

He found you caught up in one of Edge’s cages. The darker skeleton had a fondness for them, and you were shaking in the metal by the water.

“kid, what happened? Why’d you run like that?” he was going to play dumb. He wanted you to tell him everything so he knew where your mind was.

“g-get away! I….you…” your face crumpled up, except for your eyes. Those were blared wide in terror as you scooted as far away from him as possible.

It hurt to see you like this again. You’d gotten so comfortable lately, and he’d almost hoped you’d stay willingly. No chance of that now. “I what? It’s just me.” His smile was so fake now that even he didn’t think it would work.

It didn’t.

“You ATE me!” The heartbroken sob afterward made him wince visibly.

“Aw, kid, c’mon. You’re alive, aren’t ya? Nobody’s tried to hurt you, have they?” maybe reason would work. You were a scientist, you knew logic.

“b-but….but STILL. I….I thought…” you curled in on yourself and shook. “I thought I was…more.”

“more?” What did you mean by that?

Those tears were worse than anything else. Gosh it was almost as bad as Blue crying. “more than food…t-to you guys.”

“oh gosh, kid.” Honey slumped down into his own coils, the strength to stand gone. You thought they were teasing you, being cruel by being kind. Playing with their food. “That’s….kid, we-“

“Just…just stop.” You were tired by now, clearly, having run all the way out here and cried so much so early in the morning after being scared witless. “if you’re going to kill me, just do it. Now that I know, I can’t enjoy things anymore.”

Sighing, Honey stuck his hands in his hoodie pocket and looked you over sadly, “kid, even if I wanted to kill you, I can’t. you mean too much to blue and paps. Heck, even edge wants to protect you and red’s not been this nice to anybody for a long time.”

“But you-“

“Yeah, I took you in when we first met, but I got you out, didn’t i?” He lifts a browbone, hoping you’ll rise to the challenge.

“w-well…but why did-“

“why’d I do it at all?” He shrugs, “honestly, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, i was too lazy to carry you by hand and didn’t want you to try and get away. Plus, I hypnotized you to make you not struggle so…yeah, might as well confess to that since we’re at it.” Get it all out, Honey. That way she’s only mad once instead of twice.

“you…did? So that’s why it was so fuzzy.” You look at your hands and seem to think for a while. The fear in your soul has changed to hurt and confusion, which was both better and worse. He’d have done anything to make that stop.

“Yeah, and it wasn’t fair either, but we didn’t realize you were….well, you. Humans can hurt monsters so easily, so we had to neutralize threats. That’s my job, same with Classic, Red, Violet, and Syrup. But,” he felt his soul twinge with nerves at what he was about to say, “kid, I’d NEVER want to hurt you.” And it was true. The minute they’d resonated, he’d lost all motivation to so much as sadden you. You were more important to him now than everybody besides Blue and Chara, their human friend.

You thought for a moment, then said, “Say that again, but with your soul out. You…you can’t lie with your soul out.” Oh, but you were smart. That’s part of why he’d become so attached to you.

“Alright.” He’d do it for you. Show his ugly, broken soul, just for you.

You watched Honey sit up, coming closer to the cage. You’d have asked to come out, but it felt safer right now to have something between yourself and this…monster. It hurt you to call him that, really, but your brain was not listening to you.

His eyes were so sad right now. You didn’t like seeing Honey sad, not at all.

Still, he made a motion of pulling something from his chest, and a white heart shape came out. It was upside down, and much dimmer than yours. It had thick cracked lines going through it, as if it had been shattered and glued together hundreds of times.

You looked at him, feeling both awe-struck and horribly upset at the state of his soul. He saw your expression, and his sadness softened into something warm. “______, I would never hurt you on purpose. Not ever.”

It was enough to make you tear up again, this time with shame. How could you ever think Honey would hurt you? Even if he was weird and did strange things, this was Honey. He was your closest friend besides Blue….oh no, Blue!

“T-take me h-home, please,” you choked out through tears, “I h-have to apologize to Blue for b-b-being stupid.”

He put his soul back and snapped his fingers, opening the cage door. You crawled out and fell into his arms, nuzzling that soft orange hoodie, “and I’m…..i’m sorry, Honey. I sh-should have believed you.”

“yeah, well….we all make mistakes,” he murmured, nuzzling his teeth to the top of your head in one of those all-too-familiar skeleton kisses. “I don’t blame you for running, specially not with Axe there. ‘s a lot to take in at once.”

He started moving back toward the house, and you just went limp. “but…did I really not taste good?” it just came out before you could stop yourself.

Stopping in his tracks, Honey gave you the most startled look you’d ever seen, then laughed. It was a genuine, really hard laugh, and he even sounded a bit like Papyrus towards the end. “N-nyeh eheheh, oh gosh….oh kid, really? But nah, you tasted fine. Clothes, not so much, but you yourself were okay. Oh gosh, that….you got me good.”

You decided you loved Honey’s laugh much more when it was so heartfelt.

The idea of hearing him laugh like that more often filled you with DETERMINATION.

Axe was watching from the bushes. Curse that smoke spewing idiot. He wanted that human, badly. There was just too much about her that irked him. She smelled delicious, her body was soft and easily could keep himself and his brother supplied for a good while, and if she died, he’d be hurting Honey and Blue. They creeped him out to a high degree, as did Razzberry, Grape, and their brothers. He’d do anything to bring them all down a notch.

Still, he watched Honey carry the girl, and felt his interest spike when he saw Honey’s chest begin to glow. Resonance. No wonder he’d found her first.

Axe hadn’t even known a human could resonate with a monster before, so this was very interesting. They must be very well matched, since he could even faintly make out a purple glow from her chest, too.

He’d have to watch them more closely from now on.

Breakfast was strangely silent. Axe and his brother, a hulking, severely damaged version of Papyrus that made you shiver and ache out of empathy, sat at the stained places on the table, and you made sure to try your best not to stare. Blue was so glad you were back, even a little teary, though he scolded Honey for taking so long to tell you about how you arrived.

The food turned out alright, though the biscuits were a bit too done and the bacon wasn’t as crisp as you’d like. You had made a great deal of it, too, since you had to make sure you had enough to feed an army (what with half your boys usually making it through thirds on a normal day). But the terrifying additions to the table were sparing, only eating one serving.

“HuMAn?” came a curious croak from Chompers, the brother.

“Y-yes, dear?” you couldn’t help the stammer; you still weren’t over how much ill will you felt from Axe.

“ARE YOU STAYING HERE? WITH US?” He seemed genuinely in question of this, and you looked to the others before answering. Classic just sighed, while Blue motioned for you to go on.

“Yes, I am, actually,” you admit, and Chompers creaks his battered face into a smile.

“OH THAT IS LOVELY! MAYBE YOU CAN FIND ALIZA FOR US. SHE’S BEEN GONE A LONG TIME. I MISS HER.” You gave a patient smile to him; now you knew why Red had talked about that child with pity in his voice. To have come from the section of the underground with these two in it must have been harrowing at best.

Sans, voice heavy but gentle, came across the table, “Aliza’s not gonna live here anymore, buddy, remember? My Toriel took her in.”

Axe huffed and sulkily drooped into his coils, but Chompers had to think on those words a minute. He then nodded eagerly, “OH YES! I DO REMEMBER NOW, THANK YOU, NOT-BROTHER. STILL, THE TALL HUMAN CAN AT LEAST ENSURE THAT SHE IS WELL CARED FOR AND EATS ENOUGH! IT IS IMPORTANT TO EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN SINCE THINGS ARE SO SCARCE.”

His brother stepped in this time, a look of shame and anger shooting across his face before it was replaced with an indulgent smile, “bro, we’re on the surface now.”

“OH. OH YES, SILLY ME.”

You lean against Honey. You can’t stand having to listen to this much longer. Poor Chompers is forgetful, and it is paining you to realize he must have brain damage somehow. You will not ask how. But you will also remember to make sure you always are ready if these two come again. You are not going to let them starve if this is what starvation can do to monsters. The cannibalism….that you can forgive, at least in whatever hideously dire circumstances they lived through. Humans have done far worse for far less, you’d imagine.

Once the food was cleared out (you didn’t overmake anything, if you could help it), the two sources of stress rose. Axe, his disturbing smile fixing on you once more, gave a mocking bow, though his voice was actually sincere, “not bad, sugar. We’ll be sure to come by again sometime.”

Now that they were gone, you notice the knife-able tension left with them. Oh…you realized maybe that was a pun. Sans and Honey must be rubbing off on you.

You spend the rest of the day in some kind of impromptu cuddle pile in the living room. It started with Honey and Blue coiled around you. Or, if you were more accurate, Blue was coiled around you and Honey just draped himself around both of you. Then Red came and insisted on being close to you, somehow wriggling around Honey’s coils till he could rest his head on your shoulder. Then Papyrus decided it was an official cuddle pile and wiggled in, too, and soon enough Razzy and Syrup and all the others were lying around in confusing piles of glowing magic coils. You liked looking around at the different colors: the shades of orange between Honey, Papyrus, and Syrup, the purples Grape and Violet had, the reds of Edge and Red, Sans and Blue balancing them out, and Razzy’s signature, unique magenta.

Blue against your front, Red against your back, Honey’s thick coils over your legs, you ended up having to stay put for quite a while. You didn’t mind, though. After this morning, you liked knowing that you were cared for, and that nobody would let anything bad happen to you.

*knowing your new family wants to protect you fills you with DETERMINATION.


	8. The Tribunal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to meet the royals

Classic has called you to the living room. He’s sitting there with Red, and a strained smile. “heya, kid. Listen, the royals asked us to bring you in today. We’ll be with you, so don’t worry, but…it’ll be pretty bad.”

Red nodded, “my group ain’t too hot on humans, same with everybody else’s besides Blue’s. and then there’s, uh….the empress.”

“Empress?” you hadn’t known there was an empire underground. The king and queen you’d heard of often but an empress?

“that’s the one from axe’s section,” Sans admitted slowly, “she’s the one we’ve been struggling with the most. As pap would say, her opinion of you is very murdery.”

That wasn’t a surprise. Anybody from their sector would be unpleasant at best. “Okay. Caution taken. Let’s go.”

Red offered to let you ride on him piggy back, but you turned him down. Walking was what you needed right now, not coddling.

You were about to face the heads of the town, the people keeping you imprisoned here and apparently at least one who wanted you dead outright. The walk would be good to help steel your nerves.

You entered the mountain instead of any building around it. The golden halls of the castle there filled you with awe and admiration. Sans and Red each had one of your arms gripped in their hand, the bones tight against your skin. It was comforting and uncomfortable at once.

Sans knocked on a large door, and there was a soft, “Come in,” from the other side. The two snakes opened the doors for you, and you walked beside them into a meeting hall of grand proportions. There were twelve chairs, though the one on the far left was empty, all arranged in a semicircle opposite the door. It was clearly a room made for trials, and you shivered, knowing it was you who had garnered this audience.

Goat monsters, ten of them, sat in the available chairs, and one very angry, rugged and mad fish woman. The clear insanity in her expression was terrifying, so you focused on the kind faces among the others. A woman at the very center caught your gaze, her red eyes brimming with kindness and actual joy that you were here. Sans smiled up at her, “hey, tori. Brought her in just like you wanted.”

Red gave a curt nod to two of the other goats, these in his favored red and black while the woman Sans addressed was in purple and white.

Tori answered, “Thank you, Sans. I am quite pleased to meet you, dear. I am Toriel, caretaker of the town and mother to Frisk. You will meet them soon, but first we wanted to see you in person. Sans and Red have told us much about you.”

The male beside her nodded, his impressive horns and beard glimmering in the sunlight dappling the room from above. “Yes. They say you are a scientist trying to conserve the environment for the future. Quite a noble pursuit.”

You bow before them before speaking, feeling out of place among such regal figures, “Y-yes, your majesty. I am.”

The kingly goat man nodded, “Good. And please, call me Asgore. Any friend of Sans’ is a friend of ours.”

“Indeed!” Toriel nodded warmly, “I am sure you are of excellent character. This is a mere formality on our part.”

“And ours!” came a jolly reply with a voice slightly higher than Asgore’s. This goat man’s beard was rather curly and his eyes were green, emanating a gentle power that warmed your soul. “I am also called Asgore, but I suppose that is confusing. How about…ah…?” He looked to the elegant lady beside him for help, seeming sheepish (you grin at the pun).

She was much like Toriel, but there was a weight and sadness to her posture that concerned you. “Perhaps Fluffy?” she was dead serious, but he seemed alright with that.

“Yes, Fluffy is fine. I am quite soft,” he chuckled. “but either way, I am Chara’s father and you will be meeting them soon as well.”

“And I am…uh…Queenie.” She was happy with her decision, though some of the others laughed softly. “But yes, our Chara is quite a handful, so try to be patient with them.”

“They are nothing compared to my child,” Came a serious female voice, lower than either Toriel’s or Queenie’s. It was the woman Red had nodded to, but she didn’t seem angry with you. “Valor is strong enough to overpower this weakling. But…” She looked you over, appraising you shamelessly before smirking a bit, “you’ll do. Call me Madam.”

“Yes, Madam.” You murmur cautiously. She reminds you of one of your elementary school teachers, stern and slightly scary.

Red gives your shoulder a soft squeeze, “your majesties, if ya don’t mind, can we get to tha point?”

The crazy fish woman yells, “SILENCE, you lazy nitwit! I still say we cut off her head!”

“No.” Said the man next to Madam, his black beard roughly cut and untamed. “Undyne, you will not harm this human without a unanimous decision from us. And knowing things as I do, you will never achieve that.” He then turned to you and shrugged, “Excuse her. She’s more militaristic than even I am. You may refer to me as Sir.”

Nodding, you find Sans’ hand and hold it tight. You’re getting very unnerved by Undyne…the Empress.

The other two royal pairs introduce themselves begrudgingly. Another set of red and black cloaked figures look you over, looking like more well off versions of Sir and Madam, then the woman says in a surly manner, “Call us My Lady and My Lord. You aren’t worth more.”

A purple and black set, the male seeming thin and nervous while the female is muscular and imposing, glare down at you. The shaky voice of the male reaches you, “Ah, we are…if it pleases you, dearest, we are Rex and Regina.” His beard was blue-black, but it was curled and wildly disheveled. You felt sorry for him. “I hope our Lucy pleases you.”

“ENOUGH!” Undyne screamed again, “Even you three are being weak pushovers. Who cares if this stupid bonebag trusts her, or if ANY of them do? The humans are enemies and always will be. Let’s kill her and be done with it!”

Sans looked annoyed, but Red put himself in front of you and growled softly.

“Undyne, please,” started Madam, but she was cut off with more yelling.

“We suffered too much to let them live! The kids freed us, sure, but that’s the only reason they’re allowed to live. This one has done nothing worth saving and deserves to die like all of her kind!” Undyne jumped down from her podium, brandishing a bright blue spear.

Red coiled around you while Sans put up a blue bone wall. You held tight to Red’s coat, horrified by this turn of events. Unable to keep his cool, Red yelled back, “And what’re ya gonna do, fish breath? Fight us all? We ain’t your Sans’ and I ain’t lettin’ ya hurt her. Now get back in your seat and act like a freakin’ actual queen!”

You wrapped your arms around him, holding him back, trying to reassure both of you that you’d be alright. You saw Sans, straining to keep the wall up while Undyne smacked at it with her spears. He could only defend, not attack. This was an actual Empress after all, and her tail was a shimmering electric blue eel’s body covered in scars, her red hair wild and loose down her back.

Toriel and Fluffy both jumped down now, standing between Undyne and the wall of bones. Their tails were softer on the landing, and the iridescent feathers that covered them glistened. As they moved into place, the angelic wings folded against the back of their coils fanned out defensively, further shielding you and the skeletons from harm.

You felt Red relax a bit, but he was still on alert, “like hell she’s takin’ you away. I ain’t lettin’ it happen.”

Your chest began to burn and tingle, but you welcomed it now. You knew what it meant. And you’d learned this was the surest proof you were in safe hands.

As your soul’s glow was muted against his back, Red’s was like a beacon in the shadowy hall. Everyone gasped, turning at the light. As for Red himself, he stood firm, looking each royal in the face as if to dare them to ruin this moment.

Undyne dropped her spear, then began laughing hysterically, unable to form words. You hid your face in Red’s shoulder, and were disappointed when the tingle stopped.

Toriel, now beaming at Red, turned to her fellow royalty, “Well, I think that is proof enough for all of us that she is trustworthy. Are we agreed?”

There was a soft murmur and a nod. Toriel came forward as Sans let his wall down, murmuring, “Red, my dear, you are very brave to stand up like that for her. I hope the two of you are happy in whatever the future brings for you.”

He nodded, absently patting your head, “y-yeah. thanks, Miss Toriel.”

Sans sighed and rubbed his sockets, “can we call it then? She can leave the boarders so long as one of us is with her?”

“Yes,” said Fluffy, patting Sans on the back, “I think that is enough for today, anyway. We’ll let the children over soon to have a meet and greet.”

As soon as you let go of Red, you found yourself scooped up into a hug from both Toriel and Fluffy.

Toriel cooed softly to you as you shook in her arms, “I am so sorry you had to go through so much trauma from Undyne, my dear. But! It was enough to bring out the connection between you and Red! So, a silver lining, at least.”

Fluffy added gently, “still, we do not blame you if you never wish to return after that. Either way, the majority of us are happy to have you among our people, especially since our little ones need someone of their own kind. Thank you.”

Sans cleared his throat, “uh, not to break up the happy hug time, but we probably should let her go home and rest.”

Both of the warm, soft-furred goat people let you go, and Toriel said, “Of course, Sans. I’m sorry if I kept you. Good day, my dear.”

Red held you close as you slumped into his arms again, “classic, let’s just shortcut home.”

“yeah, that’s best,” Sans nodded, and soon enough you blinked and were back in the living room.

When the three of you popped up, Blue hurried from the kitchen, “YOU’RE BACK! HOW DID IT GO?”

You motion for him to come close, despite Red flinching away from him, and pull the little ball of sunshine into your arms. He felt your shaking now, and whimpered softly, nuzzling his skull into you and hugging tighter.

The whimper was what called Honey out, and he didn’t even have to ask. “who do I need to school?”

Red replied for you as you cuddled Blue, “was that fish again. Not gonna drop her vendetta even now. But we got our little bookworm here permission to go outside’a town so long as we’re with’er.”

“ah. Okay,” Honey slumped a bit, his back having been ramrod straight when he was in attack mode.

Sans sighed and gave your head a pat before slipping into a spot on the sofas, “they only agreed because she resonated with Red right in front of them, or I don’t think Regina and My Lady would have let her.”

Blue jolted, but didn’t speak, and Honey lifted a brow bone at Red, who was blushing furiously.

“classic, c’mon, man. I wanted to keep that private,” he begged, not able to look at anybody else besides Sans.

“why? C’mon, we told you about it when it happened to us,” Honey chuckled, but the humor in it was sickly and weak. He was worried.

You reluctantly pull away from Red’s hands on your shoulders, letting go of Blue and flopping into the pillow nest. You don’t want to think anymore. The murmur of the boys’ hushed voices lulls you to sleep.


End file.
